COLUMBIA  LIBRARIES  OFFSITE 

HEALTH  SCIENCES  STANDARD 


HX64095088 
R1 54.F52  W27         in  memory  of  Dr.  Was 


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Washington  University.  St,  Louis.  Medical  School 


In  Memory  of  Dr,  Washington  E,  Fischel  1650-1914 


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LIBRARY 


In  Memory  of 

Dr.  Washington  E.  Fischel 


REMARKS  AND  ADDRESSES  BY 

JOHN  BLASDEL  SHAPLEIGH,  M.D.,  FRANK 
V.  HAMMAR,  ABRAHAM  JACOBI,  M.D.,LL.D., 
AND  FREDERIC  A.  HALL,  LL.D.  PRESENTED 
AT  A  MEETING  HELD  by  WASHINGTON  UNI- 
VERSITY MEDICAL  SCHOOL 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2010  with  funding  from 

Open  Knowledge  Commons 


http://www.archive.org/details/inmemoryofdrwashOOshap 


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In  Memory  ot 
Dr.  Washington   E.  Fischel 


A  meeting  in  memory  of  Dr.  Washington  E.  Fischel  was  held 
in  the  Assembly  Hall  of  Washington  University  Medical  School 
on  Sunday,  Dec.  13,  1914,  at  4  o'clock.  Acting  Chancellor 
Frederic  A.  Hall  presided  and  addresses  were  made  in  com- 
memoration of  the  work  of  Dr.  Fischel  as  a  physician,  a  citizen 
and  a  teacher  by  Dr.  John  Blasdel  Shapleigh,  Mr.  Frank  V. 
Hammar,  Dr.  Abraham  Jacobi  and  Chancellor  Hall. 

Chancellor  Hall  opened  the  exercises  with  the  following 
remarks : 

We  are  assembled  to-day  to  honor  the  memory  of  an  eminent 
physician,  a  public-spirited  citizen,  a  warm-hearted  friend,  a 
noble  man.  By  our  presence  and  our  words  we  bring  to  this 
room  a  tribute  to  the  life  and  character  of  the  late  Dr.  Washing- 
ton E.  Fischel.  Months  hence  this  building  and  these  grounds 
will  be  dedicated  in  formal  manner,  but  in  no  slight  sense  we 
to-day  dedicate  this  room  to  the  ideals  for  which  he  stood  —  a 
room  in  which  he  himself  would  rather  have  spoken  than  in  any 
other  room  in  the  entire  world.  His  persistent  efforts  had  no 
small  influence  in  making  these  buildings  possible.  In  this  school 
and  the  adjacent  hospitals  was  his  affection  planted  deep;  here 
his  heart's  interests  centered.  With  loving  hearts,  then,  appro- 
priately here  do  we  pay  tribute  to  one  who  thus  served  the  public. 

I  feel  that  it  would  be  to  mar  the  exercises  were  I  to  introduce 
the  several  speakers.  Most  of  them  are  familiar  to  you  all,  and 
he  whose  face  may  not  be  familiar  bears  a  name  known  through 
the  medical  world.  To  him  especially  is  gratitude  due  that  at  his 
advanced  age,  in  inclement  weather,  he  should  come  so  long  a 
distance  to  speak  for  his  friend  and  ours.  Those  who  will 
address  you  have  been  selected  from  among  Dr.  Fischel's  asso- 
ciates in  the  medical  world  and  in  philanthropic  and  educational 
enterprises.  Each  will  speak  as  he  may  wish,  but  however  inade- 
quate their  words  may  be,  they  testify  to  a  desire  on  the  part 
of  everyone  to  honor  the  memory  of  him  in  whose  name  we  meet. 


2  DR.     WASHINGTON    E.    FISCHEL 

WASHINGTON     EMIL    FISCHEL 

AN  ADDRESS  BY  JOHN  BLASDEL  SHAPLEIGH,   M.D. 

To  have  practiced  medicine  in  this  community  continuously 
for  forty  years;  from  small  beginnings  to  have  built  up  a  large 
practice ;  to  have  been  for  years  acknowledged  by  his  colleagues 
as  a  leader,  and  to  have  commanded  their  respect  through  high 
professional  ideals  and  their  esteem  through  uprightness  of  char- 
acter; to  have  gained  a  high  and  more  than  local  reputation  in 
his  chosen  department  of  practice ;  to  have  rendered  efficient  and 
untiring  service  to  his  fellows  for  more  than  a  generation,  and  to 
have  exerted  a  positive  influence  for  good  among  us;  these  are 
evidences  of  an  active,  useful  and  successful  life,  and  they  are 
the  record  of  Dr.  Fischel's  professional  career. 

Meeting  here  to  honor  the  memory  of  one  so  prominent  in  his 
profession,  and  whose  reputation  in  medical  circles  in  the  East 
and  in  Europe  made  him  the  representative  of  internal  medicine 
ill  this  city,  it  is  fitting  that  something  be  said  of  his  work  in 
medicine  and  of  the  interests  and  associations  that  gave  it  its 
conspicuous  success  and  value. 

Dr.  Fischel  was  born  in  this  city  on  May  29,  1850.  He  grad- 
uated from  the  St.  Louis  High  School  in  1868,  and  in  1871,  when 
not  quite  21,  received  from  the  St.  Louis  Medical  College  the 
degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine.  After  serving  as  intern  in  the 
St.  Louis  City  Hospital  he  continued  his  post-graduate  studies 
at  the  universities  of  Prague,  Berlin  and  Vienna.  He  returned 
to  St.  Louis  in  1874  and  began  the  practice  of  his  profession. 

It  is  only  under  exceptional  conditions  that  a  physician  steps 
at  once  into  an  extensive  practice.  Usually  its  growth,  though 
cumulative,  is  slow,  and  the  early  years  are  times  of  trial  and 
struggle.  This  was  true  of  Dr.  Fischel,  but  he  won  his  way  to 
success  by  virtue  of  qualities  that  made  failure  impossible. 

Who  that  knew  him  failed  to  feel  his  magnetic  energy !  Who 
could  resist  the  charm  of  his  greeting,  of  the  cordial  handclasp 
and  the  gracious  consideration  he  bestowed  on  all!  Who  of  all 
his  patients  did  not  know  the  comfort  and  encouragement  his 
visits  brought !  His  presence  in  the  sick-room  seemed  to  radiate 
cheer  and  courage ;  his  confidence  and  strength  brought  renewed 
hope. 

There  are  personalities  who  unconsciously  command  our  con- 
fidence and  upon  whom  we  instinctively  rely.    It  is  the  privilege 


MEMORIAL  3 

of  strong  natures  thus  to  impress  others  and  few  have  possessed 
this  power  in  greater  degree  than  did  Dr.  Fischel. 

Ask  the  rich  why  they  chose  him  as  their  physician.  They 
will  tell  you  of  their  confidence  in  his  ability;  of  his  care  and 
watchfulness :  of  the  comfort  and  encouragement  his  personality 
inspired.  Ask  the  poor  and  they  will  tell  you  not  only  of  his 
skill,  but  of  his  generous  kindness  and  of  his  consideration  for 
their  needs.  And  so  while  his  ability  brought  him  many  patients, 
both  rich  and  poor,  his  personal  qualities  and  his  interest  in  their 
welfare  bound  them  to  him  and  gained  for  him  their  loyalty  and 
friendship. 

Dr.  Fischel  valued  this  feeling  on  the  part  of  his  patients  very 
highly.  He  wanted  to  be,  and  sought  to  be,  the  family  friend  as 
well  as  the  family  doctor.  That  in  so  many  homes  his  death  is 
felt  as  a  personal  grief,  shows  how  well  he  succeeded. 

Unquestionably,  the  first  duty  of  a  physician  is  to  his  patients. 
His  time,  his  strength,  his  skill  belong  to  them,  and  their  need 
should  be  the  measure  of  his  service.  He  owes  it  to  them  to 
prepare  himself  for  his  professional  work  in  the  best  possible 
manner  and  by  continued  study  to  keep  himself  informed  of  the 
constant  advances  made  in  medical  science  and  practice,  to  the 
end  that  those  who  intrust  themselves  to  his  care  may  receive  the 
benefit  of  what  is  found  good  in  the  new  methods  of  diagnosis 
and  treatment.  These  obligations  Dr.  Fischel  met  fully.  Respond- 
ing freely  to  the  demands  of  his  patients,  he  spent  himself  unre- 
servedly in  their  service.  Always  informed  as  to  the  newest  in 
medical  research,  he  was  ready  to  abandon  the  old  and  adopt  the 
new  whenever  his  judgment  and  experience  confirmed  the  new 
as  better. 

Of  almost  equal  importance  to  his  duty  to  his  patients  is  the 
physician's  obligation  to  his  profession.  It  is  incumbent  on  him 
to  uphold  its  noble  traditions  and  to  oppose  all  things  that  might 
lessen  the  dignity  of,  or  bring  reproach  upon,  a  calling  that  is 
humanitarian  and  not  commercial.  He  should  share  with  his 
colleagues  the  results  of  his  own  experience  and  investigation  by 
contributing  to  medical  literature,  or  by  work  in  medical  societies, 
or  as  a  teacher. 

Dr.  Fischel's  contributions  to  medical  literature  were  mostly 
in  the  form  of  papers  and  reports  to  various  medical  societies 
and  not  preserved  in  permanent  form.    This  is  to  be  regretted, 


4  DR.     WASHINGTON    E.    FISCHEL 

for  his  thorough  knowledge  and  clear  views  of  medical  sub- 
jects, his  accurate  judgment  and  his  wide  experience  would  have 
made  anything  from  his  pen  most  valuable. 

In  his  earlier  years  Dr.  Fischel  was  active  in  the  affairs  of 
the  St.  Louis  Medical  Society,  holding  the  position  of  secretary 
in  1878  and  of  treasurer  from  1880  to  1884.  He  was  also  a 
member  of  various  other  medical  societies  both  local  and  national, 
whose  leaders  became  his  warm  personal  friends. 

His  greatest  interest,  however,  centered  in  the  cause  of  med- 
ical education,  and  as  teacher  and  faculty  member  he  rendered 
perhaps  his  most  valuable  service  to  his  profession.  In  both 
capacities  he  filled  a  prominent  place  in  the  history  of  the  St. 
Louis  Medical  College  and  the  Washington  University  Medical 
School  during  the  last  fifteen  or  twenty  years.  His  connection 
with  this  institution  began  in  1881  and  continued  unbroken  until 
his  death. 

In  1881  he  was  made  lecturer  on  therapeutics  and  two  years 
later  became  a  member  of  the  faculty,  being  called  to  fill  the 
newly  created  chair  of  hygiene  and  forensic  medicine.  In  1886 
he  was  made  professor  of  clinical  medicine,  which  position,  with 
occasional  change  of  title,  he  held  for  twenty-eight  years. 

To  his  work  in  the  clinics  and  the  wards  of  the  University 
Hospital  he  brought  the  same  energy  and  thoroughness  that 
characterized  him  in  all  he  did.  He  loved  this  work  and  counted 
no  sacrifice  too  great  for  its  faithful  performance. 

For  the  following  estimate  of  Dr.  Fischel  as  a  clinical  teacher 
I  am  indebted  to  Dr.  Albert  Taussig,  who  was  for  years  asso- 
ciated with  him  in  the  work. 

"The  many  years  during  which  I  was  associated  with  Dr. 
Fischel,  first  as  pupil  and  then  as  assistant,  served  to  fill  me  with 
an  increasing  admiration  of  his  wonderful  ability  as  a  teacher  of 
medicine.  While  he  frequently  employed  the  Socratic  method  of 
leading  the  student  by  skilful  questioning  into  correct  paths  of 
observation  and  reasoning,  and  while  he  occasionally  indulged 
himself  in  a  systematic  discussion  of  some  special  disease  or 
group  of  diseases,  his  favorite  method  of  teaching,  and  the  one 
in  which  he  was  most  successful,  was  somewhat  different.  With 
the  patient  before  him,  and  an  attentive  group  of  students  seated 
round  about,  he  would  first  make  clear  the  noteworthy  features 
of  the  case  under  discussion  and  then  draw  upon  an  unusually 


MEMORIAL  5 

retentive  memory  to  illustrate,  by  analogy  and  by  contrast,  in 
the  discussion  of  other  somewhat  similar  cases,  the  various 
aspects  of  the  case  at  hand.  Such  a  presentation  of  the  subject 
could  not  always  be  entirely  systematic,  but  this  fault,  if  it  was 
one,  was  more  than  counterbalanced  by  the  resulting  vividness 
and  concreteness.  He  was  an  eager  student  of  medical  literature 
and  was  broadened  by  frequent  intimate  personal  contact  with 
the  great  clinicians  of  this  and  other  countries,  but  it  was  when 
drawing  upon  his  own  vast  personal  experience  that  his  lectures 
became  most  illuminating  and  inspiring. 

While  always  insisting  upon  the  fundamental  necessity  for 
correct  diagnosis,  he  never  allowed  his  students  to  forget  that 
diagnosis  is  never  more  than  a  means  to  an  end  and  that  the 
patient's  welfare.  Thus  his  clinics  were  eminently  practical,  in 
the  best  sense  of  that  much  misused  term.  In  his  own  practice 
his  most  striking  characteristic  was  his  unfailing  resourcefulness 
in  the  face  of  an  emergency.  Something  of  this  quality  it  was 
his  constant  aim  to  impress  upon  his  students  and  his  classes  were 
sure  to  carry  away  with  them  not  only  a  deep  sense  of  their 
personal  responsibility  to  their  patients,  but  many  a  definite  sug- 
gestion for  later  use  in  their  own  work." 

As  a  member  of  the  faculty  he  rendered  many  valuable 
services  to  the  medical  school  and  had  much  to  do  with  forming 
and  directing  its  policy  and  plans.  In  the  years  following  the 
death  of  the  dean,  Dr.  H.  H.  Mudd,  he  was  one  of  the  leading 
forces  in  the  faculty,  and  to  his  zeal  and  devotion  to  its  interests 
the  school  owed  much.  Again,  in  1910,  when  the  complete 
reorganization  of  the  medical  school  by  the  directors  of  Wash- 
ington University  was  undertaken,  his  advice  was  sought,  and  his 
influence  and  earnest  cooperation  were  of  great  assistance  in 
bringing  it  to  a  successful  conclusion. 

Proud  as  he  was  of  the  past  record  and  reputation  of  his 
alma  mater,  he  saw  in  this  reorganization  the  promise  of  greater 
things  and  he  regarded  it  as  the  first  step  toward  placing  her  in 
the  front  rank  of  university  medical  schools.  He  looked  for- 
ward to  seeing  the  fulfilment  of  his  aspirations  begun  by  the 
completion  of  the  new  buildings  for  the  medical  department. 
Almost  to  the  last  he  hoped  to  be  able  to  take  part  in  the  opening 
ceremonies,  and  it  was  a  bitter  disappointment  when  he  realized 
that  this  was  not  to  be. 


6  DR.     WASHINGTON    E.    FISCHEL 

When  in  1883  Dr.  Fischel  became  a  member  of  the  faculty  of 
the  St.  Louis  Medical  College  he  became  also  a  member  of  the 
Medical  Fund  Society.  He  was  secretary  of  this  society  from 
1886  to  1912,  and  its  president  from  1912  till  his  death.  I  think 
that  of  all  his  connections  with  medical  organizations  Dr. 
Fischel  held  none  dearer  than  this.  As  the  existence  of  the 
Medical  Fund  Society  is  not  known  outside  a  comparatively 
small  circle,  a  few  words  regarding  it  may  not  be  out  of  place  as 
explaining  his  feeling  for  it  and  as  demonstrating  the  unselfish 
devotion  to  the  cause  of  medicine  of  its  founders. 

The  Medical  Fund  Society  was  incorporated  in  1872.  At  that 
time  practically  all  medical  schools  were  proprietary  enterprises, 
without  university  connection  and  under  complete  control  of  their 
respective  faculties.  The  cost  of  conducting  such  a  school,  there 
being  no  salaried  teachers  and  no  laboratories  or  hospital  to 
maintain,  was  relatively  small,  and  each  year  the  net  profits  were 
divided  among  the  faculty  members.  This  plan  was  in  force  at 
that  time  in  the  St.  Louis  Medical  College.  Reahzing  the  need  for 
better  medical  teaching,  and  especially  the  necessity  for  clinical 
teaching  in  hospitals  and  dispensaries  under  the  school's  control, 
the  members  of  the  faculty  of  the  St.  Louis  Medical  College 
formed  the  Medical  Fund  Society,  whose  object  v/as  the  accumu- 
lation of  a  trust  fund  to  be  used  for  this  purpose,  and  primarily 
for  the  purchase  of  the  property  on  Seventh  and  Myrtle  streets, 
where  the  St.  Louis  Medical  College  was  then  located.  In  order 
to  accumulate  this  fund,  each  member  pledged  himself  to  pay  to 
the  society  each  year  his  share  in  the  profits  of  the  medical  col- 
lege. Since  then,  except  in  the  case  of  salaried  teachers,  the 
members  of  the  faculty  have  given  their  services  without  com- 
pensation. 

The  work  of  the  Medical  Fund  Society  was  invaluable  in  the 
advancement  of  medical  education  in  St.  Louis.  By  the  pecu- 
niary sacrifice  of  its  members  the  society  was  enabled  to  acquire 
first  the  property  at  Seventh  and  Myrtle  streets,  and  later  to  erect 
the  building  on  Locust  and  Eighteenth  streets,  so  long  occupied 
by  the  medical  school  and  now  being  given  up  for  the  new  build- 
ings provided  by  the  university  for  its  medical  department. 

In  1912  the  Medical  Fund  Society  transferred  this  Locust 
Street  property  to  the  Washington  University  on  the  latter  assum- 
ing its  bonded  indebtedness.  The  incorporators  of  the  Medical 
Fund  Society  were  A.  Litton,  J.  B.  Johnson,  E.  H.  Gregory,  John 


MEMORIAL  7 

T.  Hodgen,  J.  S.  B.  Alleyne,  E.  F.  Smith,  L.  C.  Boisliniere  and 
John  J.  McDowell,  and  among  its  later  members  were  Henry  H. 
Miidd,  Gustave  Baumgarten  and  John  Green.  These  are  names 
the  medical  profession  of  our  city  holds  in  proud  remembrance, 
and  they  are  written  high  upon  its  roll  of  honor. 

Sharing  the  ideals  of  these  men,  himself  a  partner  in  their 
labors  and  in  their  self-sacrificing  loyalty  to  their  conception  of 
professional  duty,  it  is  no  wonder  that  Dr.  Fischel  cherished  the 
traditions  of  this  society  so  dearly  and  counted  his  membership 
in  it  so  great  a  privilege  and  honor. 

But  besides  his  duty  to  his  patients  and  to  his  profession,  the 
physician  has  an  obligation  to  the  community  in  which  he  lives. 
In  this  respect  Dr.  Fischel  was  not  found  wanting.  He  was 
keenly  interested  in  all  matters  concerning  the  public  health  and 
was  always  ready  to  lend  his  support  to  any  civic  enterprise,  or 
any  philanthropic  or  educational  endeavor  that  in  his  judgment 
was  of  value. 

He  was  for  many  years  a  member  of  the  medical  staff  of 
St.  Luke's  Hospital,  and  was  connected  with  the  Barnard  Free 
Skin  and  Cancer  Hospital  from  its  organization.  This  phase  of 
his  medical  work  will,  however,  be  the  theme  of  another  speaker. 

While  what  I  have  said  may  have  given  you  some  idea  of  the 
professional  ability  and  skill  of  Dr.  Fischel;  of  the  esteem  in 
which  he  was  held  by  his  colleagues ;  of  his  reputation  and  suc- 
cess and  of  the  value  of  his  medical  work,  I  am  conscious  that  it 
has  failed  to  bring  before  you  the  real  Dr.  Fischel.  Words  can- 
not do  this.  Only  by  meeting  him  face  to  face  and  receiving  his 
hearty  handclasp  and  his  genial,  courteous  greeting ;  by  noting  the 
tactful  kindness  that  made  you  feel  that  your  affairs  were  of  the 
first  importance  to  him;  by  seeing  him  in  the  sick-room  or  the 
hospital  ward  and  observing  the  gentle  thoroughness  of  his  exam- 
ination of  his  patients  and  by  feeling  the  atmosphere  of  strength 
and  cheer  he  brought  with  him ;  by  seing  the  wan  face  brighten 
at  his  coming  and  the  tired  eyes  light  up  with  new  hope  and 
courage;  only  by  such  personal  knowledge  is  it  possible  to  have 
known  Dr.  Fischel  as  he  was  —  a  true  gentleman  and  a  great 
physician. 

And  so  the  summons  came,  as  he  himself  would  have  chosen, 
in  the  full  tide  of  his  work  and  in  the  maturity  of  his  strength, 
before  advancing  age  had  lessened  his  activities  or  limited  his 
usefulness. 


8  DR.     WASHINGTON    E.    FISCHEL 

WASHINGTON     EMIL    FISCHEL 

AN    ADDRESS   BY   FRANK   V.    HAM  MAR  *► 

As  president  of  the  Barnard  Free  Skin  and  Cancer  Hospital, 
it  is  my  very  great  honor  to  speak  of  Dr.  Fischel's  connection  with 
various  philanthropies  in  this  city.  It  is  very  difficult  to  give  a 
detail  of  the  constructive  philanthropy  of  a  long  life  devoted  to 
the  welfare  of  the  people  and  the  upbuilding  of  institutions  for 
public  benefactions. 

For  a  true  interpretation  we  should  have  to  consider  prac- 
tically every  hour  of  the  span  of  such  a  life;  for  no  day  passes 
that  does  not  make  its  record  of  some  good  done  to  humanity. 
Whether  the  execution  of  his  work  was  a  single  service  to  one 
person,  or  whether  it  was  a  service  instigated  by  himself  and 
carried  out  through  the  instrumentality  of  many  other  men,  the 
human  mind  grasps  but  one  unit  of  endeavor;  but  there  is  a 
psychological  appreciation  of  proportion,  and  the  public  holds 
its  corresponding  and  comparative  judgment  of  a  man's  per- 
sonality, for  his  whole  work. 

The  element  of  love  among  the  people  is  typified  by  father 
and  mother.  The  words  have  come  to  mean  love  and  service, 
daily  and  continuously.  If  father  and  mother  are  spoken  of  with 
such  an  understanding,  the  synonym  of  Dr.  Fischel  is  super- 
father,  for  not  only  did  he  represent  love  and  service  in  his 
family,  but  in  hundreds  of  homes  and  in  thousands  of  instances. 
It  was  no  uncommon  occurrence  to  hear  that  without  the  knowl- 
edge that  Dr.  Fischel  was  within  call  the  dread  of  possibilities 
and  the  fear  of  personal  peril  transcended  the  possibilities  of 
father  and  mother  service,  and  peace  and  relief  were  impossible 
until  such  burdens  were  shifted  onto  the  shoulders  that  had 
proven  in  countless  instances  to  be  adequate  to  the  demands. 
With  this  knowledge  of  his  services  there  was  the  soul  satisfac- 
tion that  whatever  human  knowledge  could  accomplish  would  be 
done  at  whatever  sacrifice  of  his  personal  effort. 

He  brought  healing,  cheerfulness  and  contentment  wherever 
he  went.  Such  a  relationship  cannot  be  valued  in  terms  of  visits 
or  consultations  or  fees  of  money,  for  the  poor  were  quite  as 
important  to  Dr.  Fischel  as  the  rich  and  received  the  same  care- 
ful, devoted  consideration  and  the  invaluable  benefit  of  his  great 
scientific  knowledge.  And  such  a  relationship  proves  the  per- 
sonality of  the  man  who  can  sink  himself  in  a  sincere  effort  in 


MEMORIAL  9 

doing  good  and  who  accepts  as  a  personal  responsibility,  not  only 
healing,  but  the  greater  and  unpurchasable  boon  of  sympathy  and 
fellowship  in  pain  and  sorrow.  Such  service  is  without  price, 
and  for  such  a  life  Dr.  Fischel  was  so  well  beloved  by  the  com- 
munity as  a  whole. 

The  very  character  of  his  labors  was  such  that  he  could  not 
share  his  burden  with  others.  He  shared  the  pain  and  suffering 
with  his  patients,  but  the  great  responsibility  of  conserving 
human  life  and  happiness  he  carried  alone.  That  the  responsi- 
bility was  great  and  distressing  to  one  of  so  tender  a  heart,  was 
very  apparent  to  those  who  knew  him.  It  was  acute  personal 
suffering,  and  in  his  supreme  efforts,  which  could  not  in  their 
very  nature  be  always  successful,  he  could  only  paraphrase  the 
sand  diviner,  "Only  God  and  I  know  what  is  in  my  heart."  But 
we  knew,  in  a  way,  what  he  suffered  on  such  occasions  and  we 
loved  him  for  it. 

If  such  results  are  the  reward  of  effort  for  individuals,  there 
is  a  correspondingly  greater  reward  in  the  opinions  of  mankind 
for  such  civic  service  as  he  gave  to  his  native  city.  So  far  as  I 
know,  there  has  been  no  movement  or  organization  proposed  in 
this  city  that  had  for  its  object  the  good  of  the  people  as  a  whole 
in  which  Dr.  Fischel  was  not  immediately  interested.  He  gave 
his  heart  interest  and  he  gave  gladly,  not  only  of  his  own  pro- 
fessional knowledge,  but  what  was  of  equal  value,  his  powerful 
abilities  as  an  organizer  and  as  an  executive.  He  created  oppor- 
tunities for  doing  good;  he  brought  them  to  fruition,  and 
throughout  their  term  he  so  guided  and  governed  them  and 
conciliated  contending  factions,  that  his  presence  on  any  board 
was  a  source  of  exceeding  gratification  and  assistance  to  his 
fellow  associates  and  a  very  necessary  factor  to  success.  Further, 
because  of  his  fellowship  and  his  standing  in  the  community,  his 
name  in  connection  with  any  movement  gave  it  immediate  pres- 
tige, both  as  to  highest  professional  qualification  and  also  as  a 
guarantee  of  highest  business  probity.  He  was  a  man  who  did 
things.  He  was  a  splendid  type  of  dynamic  energy  in  life's 
affairs,  one  that  was  remarkable  even  in  the  community  of  virile 
men.  He  was  a  tireless  worker,  and  few,  if  any,  men  gave  more 
hours  of  concentrated  thought  and  untiring  activity  to  the 
demands  of  his  profession. 

In  1905  it  developed  that  the  free  institutions  of  St.  Louis 
would  not  give  adequate  care  and  attention  to  those  unfortunates 


10  DR.     WASHINGTON    E.    FISCHEL 

suffering  from  cancer  and  skin  diseases,  especially  in  the 
advanced  stages.  In  association  with  other  broad-minded  men 
and  women  who  felt  the  need,  Dr.  Fischel  was  instrumental  in 
organizing  the  institution  now  known  as  the  Barnard  Free  Skin 
and  Cancer  Hospital.  He  labored  long  and  earnestly  in  its  for- 
mation, in  the  detail  of  its  organization,  both  in  the  hospital  itself 
and  on  the  board  of  general  direction.  He  gave  not  only  his 
time,  but  his  money,  and  through  the  power  of  his  influence  he 
brought  such  weight  to  bear  that  the  institution  became  an 
im.mediate  financial  and  professional  success.  As  the  need 
developed  into  greater  proportion,  his  interest  also  expanded,  and 
there  was  built  up  the  present  splendid  success  that  has  done  so 
much  for  the  alleviation  of  pain  and  the  comfort  of  those 
unfortunates  of  our  city.  To  the  day  of  his  death  he  was  chair- 
man of  the  medical  board  of  the  institution  and  a  most  valuable 
assistant  on  the  board  of  directors. 

In  1910,  through  Dr.  Fischel's  instrumentality,  the  department 
of  pathology  was  added  to  the  hospital.  He  took  the  greatest 
possible  interest  in  this  branch,  having  for  its  object  the  study 
of  the  cause  and  cure  of  cancer.  He  was  unfaltering  in  his 
endorsement  of  this  purely  scientific  endeavor  for  the  general 
uplift  of  humanity.  And  it  appears  to-day  as  one  of  the  most 
tragic  ironies  of  fate,  that  the  vary  condition  he  fought  so  hard 
to  overcome  for  others  should  in  the  end  have  overcome  him. 
"He  could  save  others,  but  himself  he  could  not  save." 

It  is  with  a  due  sense  of  our  obligations  to  him  that  I,  as 
president  of  this  hospital,  make  grateful  acknowledgement  for 
such  services. 

There  J  are  two  other  institutions  in  the  city  that  are  so  inti- 
mately associated  with  Dr.  Fischel  that  we  can  hardly  think  of 
him  and  not  connect  him  with  them  —  the  medical  department 
of  the  Washington  University  and  St.  Luke's  Hospital.  At  the 
very  beginning  of  his  life  as  a  physician  he  became  greatly  inter- 
ested in  the  success  of  the  St.  Louis  Medical  College. 

He  was  very  active  in  bringing  about  the  consolidation  with 
the  Missouri  Medical  College,  and  appreciating  at  an  early  date 
the  advantages  that  would  accrue  from  association  with  the 
Washington  University,  his  energy  and  influence  were  instru- 
mental in  establishing  the  present  medical  department  of  that 
university,  which  has  such  infinite  promise  for  the  future.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  faculty  and  professor  of  medicine   for 


MEMORIAL  11 

many  years.  Of  equal  importance  was  his  association  with  St. 
Luke's  Hospital.  He  was  a  member  of  the  active  staff  during 
the  early  years  when  the  hospital  was  on  Nineteenth  Street  and 
Washington  Avenue.  Through  the  need  for  greater  and  more 
extended  facilities,  resulting  from  such  excellence  of  practice 
that  only  such  men  as  Dr.  Fischel  can  give,  the  institution 
expanded  into  its  present  splendid  establishment.  For  thirty 
years  he  has  given  it  devoted  attention,  both  as  a  physician  and 
for  some  years  on  the  board  of  general  direction.  He  was  vice- 
president  of  the  Tuberculosis  Society,  director  of  American 
School  of  Hygiene,  member  of  the  National  Association  for 
Relief  and  Prevention  of  Tuberculosis  and  of  the  Association 
of  American  Physicians. 

So  our  city  benefited  greatly  through  Dr.  Fischel's  life.  We 
have  lost  a  most  valued  member  of  our  philanthropic  society, 
but  his  life's  results  are  an  inspiration  to  all  of  us,  and  while 
we  shall  miss  him  greatly,  his  accomplishments  will  live  and 
encourage  those  of  us  who  at  times  feel  the  discouragement  that 
must  always  follow  in  some  degree  our  own  greatest  endeavors 
of  success. 

Dr.  Fischel  was  not  a  man  to  seek  the  applause  of  men;  he 
did  not  court  publicity,  but,  like  many  other  men,  his  good  works 
v.''ere  covered  with  a  mantle  of  modesty  and  but  few  knew  ot 
them,  but  they  were  the  medium  by  which  many  days  of  suffering 
were  relieved  and  many  lives  made  comfortable  and  happy,  which 
without  him  would  have  been  destitute  and  despondent. 

He  has  gone  from  among  us  and  his  passage  from  this  world 
to  a  brighter  one  was  accompanied  by  the  sighs  of  the  multitude 
to  whom  he  had  given  love  and  service,  and  they  carried  him  as 
a  benediction  to  the  very  steps  of  the  heavenly  throne. 

WASHINGTON     EMIL    FISCHEL 

AN  ADDRESS  BY  ABRAHAM  JACOBI_,  M.D._,  LL.D. 

Ten  years  ago  Dr.  Washington  Emil  Fischel  invited  me  to 
address  the  graduating  class  of  the  medical  school  of  Washing- 
ton University.  He  requested  me  to  select  for  my  remarks  a 
topic  that  would  be  of  some  use  at  and  after  the  commencement 
of  the  young  doctors'  new  lives.  It  struck  me  that  if  I  drew  for 
them  a  mental  picture  of  the  very  man  who  honored  me  with  an 
opportunity  to  speak  to  his  young  friends  and  pupils,  I  should 
succeed  in  delineating  to  them  whatever  was  choicest  in  practical 


12  DR.     WASHINGTON    E.    FISCHEL 

medicine  and  pure  citizenship.  My  subject  was:  "The  Modern 
Doctor."  With  my  mental  eye  on  Fischel,  I  could  have  depicted 
for  them  the  assiduous  student,  the  ever-occupied  ^nd  self- 
sacrificing  family  practitioner,  the  ethical  consultant,  the  success- 
ful teacher,  the  public  adviser  who  renders  services  too  valuable 
to  be  paid  for  with  money  or  public  places,  and  the  sociologist 
who  teaches  eugenics  and  virtue  to  the  nation  and  its  governing 
powers.  Indeed,  there  was  no  class  of  people  he  did  not  benefit, 
no  exalted  virtue  he  did  not  practice. 

Fischel  died  much  too  soon,  but  his  life  was  long  enough  to 
experience  many  things  in  the  practice  and  the  teaching  of  medi- 
cine. Of  both  he  had  full  knowledge,  and  to  the  evolution  of 
both  he  contributed  more  than  an  average  share. 

Dr.  Fischel  knew  the  medical  schools  of  this  country  when 
the  curriculum  extended  over  two  short  seasons  only.  The 
didactic  lectures  of  one  year  were  repeated  the  next;  bedside 
instruction,  there  was  none;  a  few  sick  were  presented  in  a 
weekly  hour  to  students  gathering  in  the  amphitheater;  the 
example  of  real  clinical  instruction  attempted  in  the  smallest  of 
the  New  York  schools,  the  Medical  College  of  East  Thirteenth 
Street,  which  had  to  close  its  doors  toward  the  end  of  the  Civil 
War,  remained  Avithout  permanent  results.  Gradually  the  two- 
year  course  was  replaced  by  one  of  three  years,  of  four  years ; 
and  the  progressive  changes  in  medical  instruction  caused  by 
restrictions  in  matriculation  and  the  introduction  of  state  exam- 
inations are  Vv^ell  known.  In  most  of  these  movements  Fischel, 
who  had  spent  years  in  German  universities,  participated 
modestly,  but  eftectually. 

The  work  of  a  family  physician  underwent  important  changes 
during  his  active  life.  Those  who  study  at  present,  also  those 
who  have  practiced  only  a  decade  or  two,  cannot  appreciate  the 
great  difficulties  and  grave  responsibilities  of  the  early  practi- 
tioner. There  was  no  Lister,  no  antisepsis,  no  asepsis ;  but  much 
erysipelas  and  gangrene  and  misunderstood  fever,  many  unfath- 
omed  and  sudden  changes  in  the  course  of  an  infectious  epidemic, 
and  more  unexplained  deaths  than  at  present. 

Eighty  years  ago  it  was  ascertained  that  of  thirty-five  sick 
thirty-four  would  die,  while  at  the  present  time  the  same  number 
will  recover.  Pasteur  and  Lister  stopped  that  misery.  Safety 
increased  from  year  to  year  with  corresponding  changes  in 
methods  of   diagnosis  and  practice.     They  are  not  all  praise- 


MEMORIAL  13 

worthy.  The  safety  due  to  soap  and  water,  corrosive  subhmate, 
peroxid  of  hydrogen  and  tincture  of  iodin,  combined  with  general 
and  local  anesthesia,  have  created  a  sad  temptation  to  perform 
operations  of  doubtful  value  or  dignity.  That  is  not  as  it  should 
be.  All  that  glitters  is  not  gold.  But  without  glitter  there  is 
much  gold,  and  more  genuine  gold  will  come  to  the  surface. 
Fischei's  vast  experience  and  impartial  judgment  appreciated  all 
that.  The  men  who  worked  and  taught  like  him  accepted  will- 
ingly the  new  additions  to  diagnosis  and  practice,  but  did  not 
substitute  them  altogether  for  their  old  possessions.  To  make  a 
diagnosis  they  did  not  wait  for  the  necropsy  or  a  laparotomy, 
which  permits  a  more  or  less  direct  inspection  of  a  cavity.  They 
had  eyes  in  the  tips  of  their  fingers,  and  their  most  important 
instruments  of  precision  were  their  brains  and  their  practiced 
eyes  and  ears.  May  the  men  who  live  now  never  forget  that 
there  were  great  doctors  more  than  fifty  years  ago. 

The  men  of  that  period  knew  all  that  was  known  at  that  time. 
They  were  fully  modern  then.  They  remained  modern  v/hile 
they  added  the  results  of  bacteriological  and,  later  on,  chemical 
research  to  their  stock  of  knowledge.  Having  been  reared  in 
the  experience  of  centuries  and  accustomed  to  the  means  of  cure 
and  relief,  they  did  not  find  it  difficult  to  learn  the  new  gospel. 
Fischel  belonged  to  that  class.  While  thus  progressing,  he  was  a 
circumspect  and  successful  teacher,  general  practitioner  and  con- 
sultant, benefiting  through  his  comprehensive  gifts  both  the 
student  classes  and  the  public.  Such  men  are  not  frequent  even 
at  present. 

Still,  there  is  no  reproach  to  the  men  of  industry  and  genius 
who  specialize  for  research  when  we  acknowledge  that  their 
horizon,  while  they  work  and  discover  and  teach,  may  become 
narrow.  It  is  true,  medicine  requires  their  work;  they  benefit 
medicine,  which  is  being  built  up  on  the  cooperation  of  many. 
They  do  not,  however,  while  furnishing  foundation  stones  and 
pillars  on  which  the  edifice  of  scientific  modern  medicine  is 
erected,  contribute  to  the  art  of  medicine.  It  is  the  art  of  medi- 
cine, however,  which  is  needed  and  demanded  by  mankind  and 
must  be  taught  in  schools.  That  was,  as  I  learned  from  Fischei's 
lips,  his  creed  and  faith. 

The  subject  of  one  of  our  late  conversations  was  the  relation 
of  the  physician  to  the  public.  Dr.  Fischei's  activity  in  the  prac- 
tice of  medicine  was  not  limited.     Fle  began'  his  career  as  a 


14  DR.     WASHINGTON    E.    FISCHEL 

general  practitioner.  His  heart  was  big,  his  knowledge  rapidly 
increasing,  his  interests  extensive.  We  looked  —  he  and  I  —  on 
the  family  physician  as  the  prop  and  staff  of  the  profession  and 
of  the  country.  It  is  the  general  practitioner  who  in  his  county 
and  state  medical  societies  suggested  and  enforced  improved 
instruction  and  better  schools.  Of  that  kind  was  his  practice  for 
a  long  time.  It  was  in  no  way  specialized.  Whenever  he  required 
specialized  skill,  he  knew  where  to  find  it  and  when  to  advise  it. 
He  earned  the  gratitude  and  love  of  those  whom  he  relieved  or 
restored,  in  their  variegated  ailments,  and  that  of  their  relatives 
and  friends.  He  was  looked  up  to  as  the  benefactor  of  the  mul- 
titude. He  treated  patients  of  more  than  one  generation  — 
grandparents,  parents  and  children  formed  his  clientele.  He 
knew  their  bodies  and  souls ;  they  trusted  him  and  loved  him  as 
only  a  doctor,  as  no  clergyman  or  lawyer  was  ever  loved  or 
trusted.  He  was  their  doctor,  their  friend,  their  confessor,  their 
adviser  in  health  and  in  sickness,  and  shared  their  secrets.  That 
is  why  he  could  be  successful  in  relieving  both  their  physical  and 
spiritual  needs.  He  appreciated  that  whoever  expects  to  aid  and 
cure  his  neighbor  must  first  understand  him  and  that,  like  the 
inequalities  of  individual  features,  their  natures  are  inequal.  As 
he  was  gifted  both  with  intuitive  observation  and  philosophical 
insight,  he  was  readily  credited  with  being  the  godly  physician 
of  whom  Hippocrates  tells  us. 

The  criticism  of  one  of  the  great  physicians  of  the  Atlantic 
Coast  found  no  favor  with  him,  nor  any  justification.  According 
to  the  latter,  the  family  physician  has  no  longer  any  defensible 
existence;  ailments  should  be  handled  by  a  specialist  whose 
modern  accomplishments  must  be  relied  upon  in  adversity. 

To  arrive  at  that  conclusion  he  committed  the  chronological 
mistake  of  asking  the  family  physician  of  fifty  or  seventy-five 
years  ago  to  grapple  with  the  case  of  to-day.  The  family  prac- 
titioner of  fifty  years  ago  was  the  accomplished  physician  of  his 
time.  Year  out,  year  in,  he  learned  what  the  men  of  great  oppor- 
tunities and  genius  and  research  discovered  for  him  and  applied 
it  as  they  could  not  have  applied  it  themselves.  Forty  years  ago, 
thirty,  twenty,  ten  years  ago  he  learned  constantly  both  the 
science  and  the  art  of  medicine.  If  not  always  ahead,  he  was 
ever  abreast  with  and  never  in  the  rear  of  the  active  medical 
column.  My  friend  in  New  York  had  in  mind  the  sluggard  in 
practice,  and  not  the  progressive,  clear-eyed,  and  watchful  prac- 


MEMORIAL  15 

titioner  who  has  not  forgotten  the  old  tools  of  his  art  while 
v/elcoming  new  ones ;  and  he  did  not  realize  the  fact  that  there  is 
many  a  patient  who  is  not  cured  by  medicine  but  by  the  doctor. 

The  great  danger  connected  with  modern  teaching  and  modern 
practice  is  not  the  acceptance  in  an  individual  case  of  the  mere 
laboratory  reports  of  the  examination  of  secretions,  excretions, 
blood  and  artery  pressure,  and  the  employment  of  the  many  new 
instruments  of  precision,  but  the  teaching  in  some  schools  and 
the  tendency  on  the  part  of  many  ill-guided  students  to  adopt  as 
complete  a  diagnosis  based  upon  mere  laboratory  tests,  a  sort  of 
absent  treatment.  The  general  practitioner,  coming  from  such  a 
school  or  imbued  with  such  habits  of  laziness  or  self-indulgence, 
is  very  apt  to  rely  exclusively  on  the  genuine  or  alleged  competent 
or  defective  laboratory.  Dr.  Fischel  complained  that  the  instruc- 
tion of  many  schools  neglected  the  most  important  instruments 
of  precision,  which  are  the  brains  and  the  educated  fingers,  ears 
and  eyes,  and  also  the  correct  observations  of  the  historical  and 
contemporaneous  masters  of  our  art.  He  feared  lest  the  young 
disciple  and  practitioner  should  no  longer  learn  how  to  judge  of 
the  pulse  —  its  softness,  hardness,  frequency,  alternation,  irregu- 
larity —  and  rather  rely  on  the  sphygmograph  alone,  though 
handled  by  some  one  else.  The  modernized  pupil  is  liable  to 
trust  in  an  electrocardiogram  alone  in  place  of  an  old-fashioned 
but  trustworthy  auscultation,  and  to  refuse  to  examine  a  patient 
and  his  history  before  sending  him  to  the  radiologist.  What 
Fischel  looked  forward  to  was  the  whole  of  clinical  instruction 
and  independent  bedside  study  for  the  future  "therapos,"  that  is, 
the  servant  of  the  sick.  He  was  anxiously  awaiting  the  time 
when  the  Washington  University  Medical  School,  reinforced  by 
the  intelligent  generosity  of  gifted  lay  philosophers  and  enjoying 
vastly  improved  facilities,  would  turn  out  only  such  physicians  as 
combine  new  tools  and  modern  methods  with  preexistent  long- 
cultivated  experience. 

His  life  was  divided  between  practicing  and  teaching.  That  is 
why  we  easily  understood  one  another  on  questions  connected 
with  schools  and  universities.  To  him  the  latter  was  not  a  place 
to  obtain  a  diploma  or  a  title,  but  one  of  general  philosophical 
education  and  spirit,  of  teaching  and  of  research. 

The  medical  school  is  part  of  the  university,  with  all  the 
breadth  of  its  principles.  That  is  why  medical  research  should 
be  encouraged  in  a  medical  student,  to  a  certain  extent,  at  least. 


16  DR.     WASHINGTON    E.    FISCHEL 

Every  medical  student  should  be  taught  the  methods  of  research. 
but  the  methods  only.  Only  those  few  of  the  class  who  mean  to 
spend  their  lives  in  it,  should  be  taught  to  invade  and  occupy  the 
territory  of  the  theories  and  practice  of  mere  science.  That  takes 
all  of  his  life.  No  mere  student  of  medicine  who  prepares  for 
practice  should  undertake  to  spend  the  years  of  his  curriculum 
on  deep  research. 

Medicine,  which  is  to  be  dedicated  to  the  service  of  the  people, 
sick  or  well,  requires  all  the  time  and  efforts  of  the  most  gifted. 
"Eines  schickt  sich  nicht  fiir  alle."  Not  everything  is  proper 
for  everybody. 

One  day  I  asked  him  to  what  extent  he  and  his  school  w^ere 
teaching  therapeutics,  physical  and  medicinal.  He  regretfully 
admitted  that  m.any  medical  schools  he  knew  were  apt  to  forget 
that  their  principal  reason  for  existence  was  the  furnishing  of 
good  doctors  for  the  cure  or  prevention  of  diseases.  These  count 
by  the  hundred ;  their  causes  are  legion,  their  manifestations 
many.  Only  of  late  are  our  student  classes  being  taught  hygiene 
as  a  preventive,  the  use  of  cold  and  warm  air  and  water,  the 
chemistry  of  food-stuffs,  the  physiology  of  digestion,  the  effect 
of  darkness  and  light,  the  ill  effects  of  poisons,  such  as  alcohol 
and  tobacco.  The  gravest  mistake  of  our  instruction  is  the  neg- 
lect of  medication  and  its  administration.  Meanwhile,  among 
the  public  the  ranting  against  drugs  ranks  as  a  modern  curse. 
Hatred  of  drugs  is  inscribed  on  the  flags  of  the  quacks  and 
sectarians  who  have  succeeded  in  demoralizing  public  conscience. 
Our  legislators  are  constantly  besieged  with  and  conquered  by 
bills  to  legitimize  ignorance.  New  sects  apply  for  recognition 
solely  on  account  of  their  not  using  drugs.  They  insolently  plead 
not  guilty  of  knowing  and  employing  the  best  friends  of  the  sick. 
Perhaps,  however,  they  belong  to  the  school  of  Tatian,  who 
fifteen  hundred  years  ago  taught  that  remedies  were  permissible 
for  heathen,  not  for  christians.  Unfortunately,  the  public,  includ- 
ing legislators,  gather  their  pseudomedical  maxims  from  the 
young  reporters  who  concoct  part  of  our  daily  press  from  the 
v/hims  of  humorous  medical  men  bent  upon  the  mere  entertain- 
ment of  their  audiences,  upon  cheap  applause  and  financial 
rewards,  and  from  the  wholesale  tradesmen  who  swamp  the 
markets  with  circulars  eulogizing  proprietary  medicines  and  nos- 
trums. What  would  you  do  without  the  drugs  that  relieve 
exhausting  pain  in  peritonitis,  stones  in  the  kidneys  and  gall- 


MEMORIAL  17 

bladder,  nervous  exhaustion;  without  the  quinin,  which  cures 
your  malaria;  the  mercury,  iodin  and  salvarsan,  which  relieve 
syphilis ;  thyroid  extract,  which  cures  myxedema  and  cretinism ; 
digitalis  and  strophanthus  and  caffein,  which  stimulate  or 
strengthen  the  heart;  theobromin  and  nitrite,  which  regulate 
blodd  pressure ;  antitoxin  in  diphtheria,  tetanus  and  typhoid ;  with- 
out arsenic,  that  great  nutrient  and  nerve  remedy;  iron,  the 
regenerator  of  impoverished  blood;  calcium,  adrenal  and  thymus 
extracts,  and  the  dozen  of  alkalies  ?  And  what  v/ill  your  pupils 
and  practitioners  do  with  all  of  them  unless  they  are  taught  how 
to  prescribe  them  better  than  the  officious  drummer  with  the 
wagging  tongue? 

Though  our  meetings  were  too  few,  Dr.  Fischel  gave  me 
opportunities  to  admire  his  humanitarianism.  He  expressed  the 
wish  that  all  our  medical  students  and  young  practitioners  could 
always  appreciate  the  frequency  with  which  suffering  is  increased 
by  their  carelessness.  Can  you  make  a  correct  diagnosis  and 
fashion  your  prognosis  ?  If  you  do,  please  learn  something  more 
— ■  and  more  important  —  a  hasty  word  is  a  dagger  you  thrust 
into  the  soul  of  the  sick  or  dying.  Your  patient  asks  you :  "Am  I 
consumptive?"  and  his  scared  look  informs  you  that  he  fears 
your  answer.  In  place  of  telling  him  that  he  is  consumptive,  and 
so  driving  him  to  despair,  what  will  you  tell  him?  Tell  him: 
"You  have  tuberculosis  in  your  lungs.  Many  such  cases  get  well. 
Almost  no  one  dies  in  old  age  who  has  not  at  some  time  or  other 
had  tuberculosis  and  got  well.  By  care  and  good  luck  your 
tuberculosis  may  improve  or  get  entirely  well.  If  you  get  worse, 
however,  your  tuberculosis  might  indeed  turn  into  consumption. 
Now,  see  to  it,  not  to  get  worse,  and  you  may  learn  how  to  avoid 
that."  That  man  has  a  better  chance  to  get  well,  for  you  have 
given  him  hope,  than  which  there  is  no  better  stimulant  for  his 
nerves,  and  the  courage  to  do  something  for  himself  and  to  give 
the  lie  to  one  of  our  whimsical  celebrities  in  the  East  who  claims 
that  the  treatment  of  consumption  is  opium  and  lies. 

Another  patient  has  been  told  he  has  cancer  in  his  liver.  He 
knows  the  term  and  that  cancer  is  fatal.  "How  long  have  I  to 
live  ?  But  doctor,  is  it  cancer,  as  they  told  me  ?"  "I  do  not  know 
how  long  you  will  live.  I  do  not  even  know  how  long  I  shall  live. 
But  you  would  do  wrong  to  neglect  yourself.  You  have  a  tumor, 
you  feel  it  yourself ;  that  is  all  you  need  know  and  fear.  I  advise 
against  an  operation  at  this  time,  for  medication  can  do  a  great 


18  DR.     WASHINGTON    E.    FISCHEL 

deal  for  you."  So  it  can,  young  man ;  but  if  you  tell  him  he  has 
cancer  he  will  die  soon  after,  having  spent  his  remaining  days  in 
constant  fear  and  agony ;  v/hile  the  hope,  born  of  uncertainty  and 
sympathy,  will  encourage  him,  make  him  live  longer,  and  when 
the  time  comes  he  will  die  in  comparative  comfort.  Which  do 
you  prefer?  I  know  what  I  prefer,  and  to  me  it  was  a  great  satis- 
faction to  learn  from  Fischel  that  I  was  correct.  This  was  his 
way,  and  it  is  the  way  of  those  who  know  how  to  differentiate 
between  a  medical  mere  man  and  a  medical  humanitarian. 
Unfortunately,  humanitarianism  and  altruism  are  not  inscribed 
in  the  hearts  of  all  those  who  have  M.D.  engraved  on  their 
diplomas.  The  nature  of  man  is  liable  to  be  narrow.  Even 
heroes  of  intelligence  do  not  always  combine  practice  with  science 
and  humanity,  like  Virchow,  who  succeeded.  He  claimed  that 
medicine  failed  in  its  calling  unless  it  became  the  property  of 
mankind.  Not  all,  even  great  practitioners,  join  the  warmth  of 
the  heart  to  their  diagnostic  acumen.  That  is  true,  though  what 
superficial  persons  say  is  not  correct,  that  the  doctor  gets  cold 
and  callous  with  advancing  years.  To  me  it  is  a  consolation  to 
have  experienced  the  reverse  in  many  colleagues,  though  not 
always  to  the  extent  in  which  cool  judgment  and  ripe  experience 
and  warm  sympathy  were  joined  in  Fischel. 

Fischel  was  a  humanitarian  by  temperament,  and  by  innate 
and  acquired  wisdom.  This  great  physician  who  remained  a 
general  practitioner  because  he  could  not  limit  himself  to  a 
specialty;  who  was  a  loved  teacher,  because  even  the  youngest 
disciple  knew  or  guessed  the  breadth  of  his  teacher's  interest, 
became  the  admired  and  much-loved  fellow-citizen  because  his 
inclinations  and  wishes  and  activities  prevented  his  broad  nature 
from  confining  himself  to  the  mere  practice  of  physic. 

There  was  more  to  him.  I  wonder  whether  he  himself  was 
aware  of  the  weight  of  his  words  and  the  influence  of  his  argu- 
mentation. What  his  personality  meant  in  local  and  state  affairs 
of  medicine,  you  know  best.  In  the  preparation  of  what  was 
meant  to  become  the  World's  Congress  of  Medicine  in  connection 
with  the  Exposition  of  1904,  Fischel's  advice  was  anxiously 
sought  for  and  conscientiously  followed.  That  his  wisdom  and 
moderation  and  energy  would  have  continued  to  be  of  vast  influ- 
ence in  the  perfection  of  your  Washington  University,  I  doubt 
not. 

Everyone  felt  that  to  praise  him  as  a  great  and  good  physician 
rendered  no  adequate  justice.    I  wonder  whether  at  any  time  this 


MEMORIAL  19 

owner  of  a  thousand  friendships  had  any  enemies.  It  is  not 
always  true  that  a  strong  man  is  never  without  them.  After  all 
in  Fischel's  character,  strength  was  not  the  only  prevailing  ele- 
ment. Warmth  and  sympathy  predominated  to  such  an  extent 
that  he  may  have  lived  without  such  friction  as  his  winning 
amiability  could  not  easily  palliate.  In  a  multitude  of  his  traits 
the  idealism  of  many  great  Americans  seems  realized.  That 
idealism  I  have  found  in  the  make-up  of  Fischel.  In  him  it  took 
at  an  early  age  the  shape  of  altruism  and  humanitarianism. 
Social  questions  were  closely  allied  in  him  with  the  needs  of 
medicine,  which  never  will  fulfil  its  destiny  unless  it  makes  the 
welfare  of  individuals  and  the  community  its  sacred  duty.  So 
there  are  many  reasons  why  his  name  will  live. 

It  will  be  an  evil  day  for  St.  Louis,  for  Washington  Univer- 
sity and  the  medical  profession  if  he  and  his  like  —  if  there  be 
any  —  and  his  ideas  be  forgotten.  In  his  modesty  he  never  cared 
about  display  or  notoriety  or  publicity.  But  without  a  tangible 
effort  men  like  him  leave  their  mark.  Whoever  has  an  interest 
in  the  public  welfare  will  rejoice  that  this  man  has  lived  and 
worked  amongst  us.  Many  may  feel  as  Tacitus  says  of  Agricola, 
"Neque  lugere  neque  plangi  fas  est."  No  mourning  or  loud  com- 
plaining is  proper.  The  appropriate  feeling  amongst  those  who 
care  for  humanity  and  mankind  and  appreciate  the  fact  that  an 
influential  and  withal  lovely  man  lived  with  us  and  for  us  —  that 
feeling  will  be  profound  gratitude. 

WASHINGTON    EMIT    FISCHEL 

AN  ADDRESS  BY  FREDERIC  A.   HALL,  LL.D. 

As  presiding  officer  of  the  occasion  I  have  officially  repre- 
sented Washington  University,  with  the  development  of  whose 
medical  department  Dr.  Fischel  was  so  intimately  identified.  It 
now  becomes  my  privilege  to  appear  in  an  additional  capacity. 
The  committee  in  charge  requests  me  to  speak  of  Dr.  Fischel  and 
his  work  as  a  teacher  in  Washington  University.  Since  the  par- 
ticular topic  reached  me  rather  late,  I  have  taken  the  liberty  of 
speaking  from  the  standpoint  of  a  patient  and  friend,  briefly 
referring  to  him  as  a  practicing  doctor  and  as  a  man. 

He  was  my  physician,  in  whose  medical  judgment  and  pre- 
scribed treatment  I  had  implicit  confidence.  He  was  my  friend, 
in  whose  counsel  I  found  security,  and  in  whose  companionship 


20  DR.     WASHINGTON    E.    FISCHEL 

I  found  delight.  For  the  past  two  years  especially  advice  was 
needed,  occasionally  of  a  delicate  nature,  as  I  endeavored  wisely 
to  administer  affairs  quite  foreign  to  my  previous  experience  and 
dealing  with  matters  of  present  and  future  importance.  Of  all 
my  acquaintances  in  the  medical  profession,  whom  it  is  my  good 
fortune  to  count  my  friends,  there  was  no  one  to  whom  I  more 
often  turned  for  disinterested  guidance.  He  was  familiar  with 
every  advance  step  in  the  marvelous  expansion  of  the  medical 
department  during  the  past  few  years,  an  expansion  in  whose 
benefits  he  could,  at  best,  have  slight  share  and  that  for  no  long 
time.  As  the  splendid  preparations  rapidly  reached  maturity  his 
sustained  interest  was  the  professional  satisfaction  one  might 
naturally  entertain  in  the  realization  of  a  life-time's  dream,  a 
dream  realized  too  late,  however,  for  any  material  advantage 
to  him. 

His  advice  in  matters  pertaining  to  the  department's  welfare 
was  always  disinterested,  but  never  impersonal.  He  could  and 
did  separate  himself  as  he  separated  his  interests  from  any  such 
proposition,  but  in  every  discussion  involving  men  he  never  lost 
sight  of  the  fact  that  a  man's  interests  were  at  stake.  His  con- 
sideration for  the  feelings  of  others  was  most  pronounced.  If  a 
measure  seemed  unavoidably  to  cross  the  purposes  and  plans  of 
another,  he  invariably  considered  how  the  measure  could  be 
adopted  with  the  least  possible  injury  to  those  concerned.  Noth- 
ing pained  him  more  than  the  alienation  of  long-time  medical 
friends,  when  differences  in  judgment  as  to  what  was  best  made 
united  effort  no  longer  possible. 

Dr.  Fischel  had  but  one  enemy,  the  double-headed  monster, 
disease  and  death.  Against  disease  and  death  he  waged  uncom- 
promising warfare.  Disease  and  death  impede  man's  usefulness 
and  mar  his  happiness,  therefore  disease  should  be  conquered 
and  death  held  in  check  to  the  latest  possible  moment.  He  fought 
disease  as  one  would  resist  an  armed  foe  on  the  battle-field  —  a 
fight  to  the  finish,  utilizing  every  instrument  and  every  device 
which  preparation  and  skill  and  strategy  and  determination  could 
command.  He  would  not  admit  that  death  was  inevitable  until 
it  actually  came,  for  as  he  once  remarked:  "Death  is  a  demon, 
ending  a  man's  career  and  harassing  the  feelings  of  his  friends. 
I  hate  death  with  all  my  soul."  With  such  a  disposition  toward 
the  enemy  of  mankind  he  felt  it  to  be  a  sublime  duty  personally 
to  equip  himself  by  close  study,  by  the  recognition  of  every  sane 


MEMORIAL  21 

prevention,  by  the  adoption  of  sound  remedies  both  in  medicine 
and  surgery  for  waging  a  successful  warfare. 

Difficulties  or  obstacles  whether  material  or  individual  never 
swerved  him  from  his  aim  in  life.  Those  who  were  familiar  only 
with  the  genial  smile  and  gracious  manner,  so  characteristic  of 
him,  failed  to  know  the  man  if  they  did  not  realize  that  behind 
the  pleasant  word  and  gentle  ways  there  lurked  a  determination 
and  a  clear  sense  of  duty  which  could  be  sternness  personified 
when  necessary.  The  final  development  of  this  medical  school 
and  the  hospitals  adjacent  has  come  through  vicissitudes  and 
episodes,  some  unavoidably  embarrassing,  whose  history  will  never 
be  written;  but  they  were  of  the  nature  to  try  the  hearts  of  the 
stoutest.  Yet  through  them  all  Dr.  Fischel  held  an  unswerving 
course  toward  the  desired  goal,  sacrificing  even  friends  if  need 
be  for  the  accomplishment  of  the  ultimate  purpose. 

Dr.  Fischel  had  personal  characteristics  which  added  greatly 
to  his  efficiency  as  a  family  physician;  his  genial  disposition  was 
an  invaluable  asset.  You  who  have  called  him  to  your  homes 
when  distress  and  anxiety  hung  dense  as  a  cloud  will  recall  the 
sense  of  security  which  was  at  once  established  by  his  cheering 
words  and  hearty  handshake.  When  he  entered  the  sick-room 
one  seemed  to  realize  that  everything  within  the  possibilities 
would  be  accomplished,  and  that  somehow  even  the  impossible 
might  be  attained ;  such  was  the  confidence  that  his  very  presence 
and  manner  inspired. 

His  ability  as  a  diagnostician  was  extraordinary.  He  instinc- 
tively got  at  the  character  and  the  source  of  the  trouble.  Yet 
what  seemed  almost  an  intuition  was  doubtless  the  result  of 
painstaking  care  and  penetrating  insight.  His  respect  for  the 
modern  laboratory  method  of  determining  disease  was  profound. 
I  have  often  heard  him  remark  that  he  doffed  his  hat  to  those 
scientifically  trained  in  the  laboratory,  and  he  was  keen  to  take 
advantage  of  their  skill  and  knowledge  in  order  to  confirm  his 
own  judgment,  but  his  confidence  in  reading  a  case  never  wavered 
and  was  rarely  amiss. 

Again,  he  never  lowered  the  dignity  of  his  profession  to  the 
level  of  purely  commercial  interests.  A  physician  of  his  eminence 
and  especially  of  his  gracious  manner  could  easily  have  been  led 
into  rarely  lucrative  fields  had  he  allowed  himself  to  do  so.  From 
what  I  know  of  the  man,  I  doubt  whether  the  fee  ever  influenced 
his  acceptance  of  a  case  or  his  subsequent  treatment.    I  know  of 


22  DR.     WASHINGTON    E.    FISCHEL 

instances  where  large  fees  would  have  been  reasonable  and  would 
have  been  paid  cheerfully,  yet  no  bill  could  be  obtained.  He 
positively  refused  in  these  cases  to  accept  remuneration.  Had 
he  been  a  man  of  independent  means  I  verily  believe  he  would 
have  practiced  his  profession  for  the  mere  love  of  it,  irrespective 
of  any  financial  returns. 

He  had  slight  regard  for  himself  when  the  good  of  his 
patient  was  involved.  To  illustrate,  allow  me  to  relate  a  trifling 
personal  incident.  Once  I  asked  him  to  make  an  early  morning 
call.  It  was  a  cold,  stormy  winter  morning;  a  bronchial  trouble 
annoyed  me  greatly,  and  I  sought  safety  in  bed.  His  visit  assured 
me  that  I  had  taken  the  proper  precaution  and  he  urged  that  I 
remain  in  bed  for  two  or  three  days  and  in  the  house  for  a  week, 
since  it  would  be  taking  a  risk  to  venture  out.  As  the  visit  pro- 
gressed I  observed  that  he  coughed  much  and  that  his  cough 
resembled  mine.  I  further  observed  that  he  was  not  looking  in 
his  usual  health.  Questioning  him,  I  found  that  my  trouble  was 
his  also,  and  that  strictly  speaking  he  too  should  be  in  bed,  since 
to  be  out  was  to  take  a  risk.  He  as  a  physician  knew  better  than 
I  what  he  should  do,  but  it  was  the  call,  the  professional  demand, 
which  outweighed  personal  considerations.  We  had  a  delightful 
visit  together  coughing  a  duet  occasionally ;  whether  I  helped  him 
I  cannot  say,  but  his  vivacity  and  courage  bettered  my  situation, 
and  even  to-day  the  memory  of  the  occasion  is  fresh  and  fra- 
grant with  his  presence. 

Another  striking  characteristic  of  the  man  in  whose  honor  we 
meet  was  his  freedom  from  professional  jealousy.  The  medical 
profession  sometimes  has  associated  with  it  a  tendency  to  be 
envious  of  what  others  are  accomplishing  in  the  same  profession. 
What  may  be  the  primary  cause  of  this  unfortunate  situation  is 
somewhat  obscure.  Possibly  the  fact  that  each  one  does  his 
work  in  seclusion  may  explain  it,  but  whatever  the  explanation, 
the  fact  is  patent  in  the  estimation  of  laymen.  This  professional 
jealousy  is  often  manifested  in  the  unwillingness  of  the  older 
physicians  to  help  young  men  in  the  profession. 

In  marked  contrast  with  this.  Dr.  Fischel  was  especially 
interested  in  the  advancement  of  young  physicians.  He  would  go 
out  of  his  way  to  recommend  such  as  were  promising,  advising 
that  they  be  employed ;  following  their  cases  with  them ;  freely 
putting  at  their  disposal  the  results  of  his  ripe  experience,  and  in 
every  way  encouraging  them  in  the  years  of  their  struggle  for  a 


MEMORIAL  23 

livelihood.  Not  a  few  of  the  eminent  younger  men  in  the  medical 
profession  will  cheerfully  bear  witness  to  the  truthfulness  of  this 
statement.  I  should  not  be  telling  the  whole  truth  were  I  to 
indicate  that  this  interest  was  confined  to  young  men  in  his  own 
profession.  He  had  unusual  depth  of  good  will  toward  young 
men  as  young  men.  He  knew  the  dangers  and  difficulties  which 
stood  between  them  and  creditable  careers  in  whatever  occupa- 
tion they  were  to  pass  their  lives.  Not  alone  as  a  physician,  but 
as  a  friend,  his  words  of  warning  and  especially  of  encourage- 
ment helped  many  a  young  man  over  the  stormy  and  uncertain 
period  of  establishing  himself.  His  purse  was  always  open  to  the 
deserving;  and  his  personal  solicitation  gave  not  a  few  young  men 
positions  in  establishments  and  business  houses.  No  young  man 
will  ever  forget  that  embrace  and  the  confident  cheer  with  which 
Dr.  Fischel  stimulated  him  in  forging  ahead. 

Those  who  knew  Dr.  Fischel  only  after  he  reached  middle 
life  can  associate  him  with  prosperity  alone,  but  in  his  early  life 
he  knew  the  heartache  of  unsatisfied  ambition  and  was  associated 
with  scant  supply  for  reasonable  wants.  Whatever  success  came 
to  him  in  later  life  he  fairly  and  honorably  won ;  won  by  devotion 
to  his  cause  and  by  the  skill  which  rewards  the  patient,  persistent 
follower  of  his  profession.  He  once  remarked  to  me  that  occa- 
sionally when  the  number  awaiting  consultation  was  wearying  he 
took  courage  in  recalling  the  days  when  calls  were  few  and  of 
relatively  slight  importance.  It  was  perhaps  the  remembrance  of 
this  strenuous  experience  in  securing  a  professional  foothold 
which  made  him  so  helpful  to  young  physicians  and  gave  him 
such  sympathetic  understanding  of  their  needs. 

Dr.  Fischel  graduated  from  the  St.  Louis  Medical  College 
in  1871.  He  immediately  went  abroad  and  spent  the  three  follow- 
ing years  in  study  and  research.  From  1874  to  1881  he  was  quiz 
master  in  the  St.  Louis  Medical  College;  1881-83,  lecturer  on 
therapeutics;  1883-88,  professor  of  hygiene  and  forensic  medi- 
cine, and  from  1886  to  the  time  of  his  death,  professor  of  clinical 
medicine.  His  connection,  then,  with  the  school  as  now  organized 
covers  a  period  of  more  than  forty  years,  inclusive  of  the  time 
spent  in  the  St.  Louis  Medical  College,  one  of  the  medical  schools 
to  be  incorporated  into  the  present  medical  department  of  Wash- 
ington University.  This  long  and  intimate  association  with  the 
medical  department  identified  him  with  its  development  and  is 
indicative  of  the  interest  which  he  took  in  medicine  from  the 


24  DR.     WASHINGTON    E.    FISCHEL 

academic  standpoint  as  well  as  from  the  practical  side.  He 
devoted  himself  enthusiastically  to  the  classroom  work,  and  gave 
careful  preparation  for  the  lectures  which  he  was  to  deliver. 

Such,  in  brief,  are  some  of  the  things  which  can  truthfully  be 
said  of  Dr.  Fischel.  A  character  so  winsome,  a  physician  so 
eminent,  a  citizen  so  public  spirited,  a  man  so  strong,  might  rea- 
sonably justify  a  eulogy.  I  have,  however,  studiously  avoided 
any  attempt  at  eulogy.  I  have  endeavored  to  confine  myself  to 
a  plain  statement  of  facts,  for  the  reason  that  in  his  case  facts 
alone  speak  loudly.  It  were  futile  to  endeavor  to  add  value  to 
Dr.  Fischel's  life  by  glowing  words  of  praise.  His  life  is  his 
highest  praise.  What  he  did  and  what  he  was  will  perpetuate 
his  memory  in  the  hearts  of  all  who  knew  him  intimately. 

No  words  can  make  good  the  loss  of  such  a  man — an  irrepar- 
able loss  to  the  community,  to  the  medical  profession,  to  count- 
less friends,  and  most  especially  to  his  family.  To-day  we  have 
met  and  have  spoken  to  one  another  of  this  good  man  now  gone. 
We  have  performed  this  simple  act  to  symbolize  our  love  for  him 
and  our  allegiance  to  the  high  ideals  for  which  he  stood. 

What  his  religious  views  were  I  do  not  know.  We  talked  of 
many  things  at  different  times,  a  wide  range  of  subjects  was 
mutually  interesting,  but  it  so  happened  that  our  private  religious 
views  were  never  exchanged.  Why,  I  cannot  say;  it  may  have 
been  that  each  considered  the  subject  so  private  as  to  be  sacred. 
At  any  rate,  we  never  spoke  of  them.  So,  I  repeat,  I  do  not 
know  what  religious  views  he  held.  But  this  I  do  know,  that  in 
his  private  life  and  outward  conduct  he  illustrated  to  a  rare 
degree  the  principles  laid  down  by  the  humble  peasant  of  Galilee, 
the  philosopher  of  Nazareth,  as  entitling  one  who  practiced  them 
to  an  abundant  entrance  into  a  haven  of  rest  beyond. 

We  who  knew  him  will  never  forget  the  late  Dr.  Washington 
E.  Fischel  —  physician,  citizen,  friend,  man. 


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W27 


Washington  university,   St.   Louis. 
School  of  medicine. 
In  memory  of  Dr.  Washington  E. 


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